Ruby When we landed, we had to wait for a ridiculously long time for our luggage. We all took separate taxi cabs to the hotel with our parents. I had traveled a little if you counted moving states and visiting my granny in Canada. It was exciting. I was so busy staring out the windows and drinking in the view, I barely heard any of Mom and Aiden’s conversation. The scenery overwhelmed me, awed by the tall buildings, and the hustle and bustle of the streets. I was just a simple country girl who felt out of her depth, like a little fish swimming around in the ocean. “Would you like to take a tour tomorrow? Maybe go see the White House? I have a friend who gives sightseeing helicopter rides. Would that be something you’d be up for?” Aiden asked me. I looked to Mom, who was smiling a

Three years later...RubyI rushed around the house, opening all the windows to rid the smell of paint fumes. Aiden, who I now called Dad, had been busy decorating the nursery. Getting it ready for my baby brother, who was due any day now.Mom and Aiden dated for a few months after Washington. They then fell in love and decided that they wanted to become a proper family. So they got married. Mom let him adopt me, just in case the cancer returned. So now I had a double-barrel surname, Ruby Knight-Prescott.It was a real mouthful to say, so I only used ‘Prescott’ for school.Mom seemed more aware of her mortality after having cancer. She decided that life was too short. Luckily, Mom had the all-clear two years ago, and she and Dad were now having a b

RubyI slurped the last of my strawberry milkshake through my straw. Mom dragged a french fry through a puddle of ketchup then crammed it into her mouth. Then her phone began to ring, and she sifted through her purse to find it.“Oh, it’s your dad,” she said, swiping the screen to answer the call. “Hey, honey. Is everything alright? We’ve just finished dinner. Do you want us to bring you anything?”Mom’s eyes flared with shock, and I could hear the husky rumble of dad’s voice as he bore some kind of bad news.“We’re on our way home,” Mom told him; her hands were shaking as she ended the call and put her phone away.“Mom … what’s wrong?” I asked, won

Ruby“Mom!” I panicked.She breathed through it until the pain eased. “It’s alright. It’s probably just a ...” She cried out again, only this time it seemed like she was in agony.I realized. “Mom, how long have you been like this?”“Can you please call your father?” she asked, breathlessly.I ran towards the phone in the hall, picking it up to dial with shaky fingers. My heart hammered as I listened to the ringtone. “Come on, Dad, pick up!” I yelled, waiting for him to answer his damn cell phone.As soon as I heard his voice, I screamed. “Dad!”“Ruby, why aren’t

RubyIt took a while for me to calm down. I stormed to my room, heading straight for my cell phone, to do what girls do best. Both my thumbs were moving at the speed of light as I sent my multi-text rant to my three best friends.I sent a text saying, “Need to get out of here for a while. My mom is driving me insane! I swear, and I’ve had like, three hours sleep all night and I require some girl time. You’re not going to believe what just happened here!”Sarah replied, “My house, in fifteen minutes.”Tegan replied, “Hello stranger, come over!”Mia replied, “Yay, Ruby!”I kicked off the slippers that my Gran had given me as a Christmas gift and